Easy Listening, June 2001

BBC World Service to Drop Shortwave to North America on July 1, 2001

Sadly, this is not an April Fool’s joke hatched two months late. Kim Elliott, host of Communications World on the Voice Of America, broke this news to the electronic shortwave community on May 8th. Andy Sennitt of Radio Netherlands confirmed the information, and Kim included an interview with Jerry Timmins, the head of the Americas stream for the BBC World Service (BBCWS) in his program the following Saturday. The BBC states that frequencies targeting the Caribbean and elsewhere in the Americas will continue, so we’ll theoretically still be able to hear the BBCWS in transmissions targeting the Caribbean, South America, Europe, and Africa. However, it’s expected that the 5965 and 9515 kHz morning frequencies and 6175 and 9590 kHz evening frequencies will no longer be used.

Shortwave will also curtailed to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific; since most NASWAns are North Americans, I’ll focus this month’s Journal column on the consequences for North American listeners.